Children's home run by Manchester City Council

Inspection report for children’s home: 1251073 1 Registered provider: Manchester City Council

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and managed by a local authority, providing care for children who may experience social and emotional difficulties. It provides short stays for up to four children and an emergency placement for one child at weekends and bank holidays. The home also provides an outreach service.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in February 2017.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Date of last inspection: 14 January 2025

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1251073 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/01/2025 Full Good 20/06/2023 Full Good 14/03/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 22/02/2022 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: 1251073 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy staying at the home. Staff provide the children with a high standard of nurturing and loving care. They build trusting and positive relationships with children and their families. This is achieved by a combination of outreach work, planned time in the home and overnight stays at weekends. In written feedback, one child described the support from staff as ‘amazing’. Another child wrote, ‘I feel comfortable and relaxed at [name of home] and all the staff are nice.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, 18 children have been supported at the home, accessing the emergency bed, and nine children have had planned overnight stays at the home. There were no children staying at the home at the time of this inspection. Children are supported to have positive experiences when staying at the home. They receive a warm welcome. Staff purchase appropriate items for them to ensure that their stay is comfortable and their needs are met.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health and emotional well-being are promoted by staff. Staff support and encourage children to make progress with their education and are ambitious for them to do well. The manager is a strong advocate for children and works effectively with other agencies to help secure appropriate health services and education provisions to meet the children’s needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are offered a variety of fun activities both inside and away from the home, which they engage well with. They are encouraged to try new opportunities and their interests are nurtured. Children enjoy day trips out to the seaside and the cinema. They play board games, complete crafts and engage in cooking and baking with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff develop positive working relationships with children’s family members for the benefit of children. They keep in regular contact with them and provide effective help and support. One parent described staff as ‘marvellous’ and the support they offer as a ‘god send’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children stay in a spacious home that is warm, welcoming and homely. Communal areas are well maintained and inviting. Children have ample room to rest and play both inside and outside of the home. Children’s bedrooms are well furnished and comfortable.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Children’s risks and vulnerabilities are known and understood by the manager and staff. Risk and behaviour management plans are reviewed and updated regularly to ensure that they are purposeful documents. Children receive help and support from staff to help them to understand and manage their feelings and behaviours. Inspection report for children’s home: 1251073 4 There is a clear admissions process in place for children who need to stay in an emergency at weekends and bank holidays. Staff are thorough in their approach to finding out information about a child and their family prior to the child staying at the home. This helps to ensure that the child’s needs are known and they are kept safe and secure. Managers maintain effective oversight of admissions and challenge other agencies if there are any gaps in the information provided.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Positive behaviour is consistently promoted at the home and children’s achievements are praised and celebrated. Staff recently hosted a ‘bake off’ competition for one child who stayed at the home. The child thoroughly enjoyed the activity, and their participation was warmly acknowledged and rewarded by staff.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Safeguarding incidents are rare. Children do not need to be held to keep them or others safe. When children go missing from the home, staff take swift and appropriate action to ensure that they return home quickly and safely.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff are trained to manage and de-escalate challenging situations when needed. Clear expectations and boundaries are in place, which children respond well to. Staff are flexible in their approach and adapt their practice to meet the individual needs of each child. Staff and children benefit from a specialist mental health worker and a speech and language coordinator who visit the home regularly.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Safer recruitment practices are in place to ensure that only adults who are safe to work with children are employed at the home. However, safeguarding checks for workers who have previously lived overseas are not undertaken.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is experienced and committed to her role. She is supported by two hardworking and caring deputy managers. The manager and the deputies are child centred and focused on achieving the best outcomes for children. They lead by example and have high expectations for the children, staff and themselves. Staff describe the managers as supportive and approachable.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff enjoy working at the home. The staff team is stable, and most staff have worked at the home for several years. Staff work well together to provide consistent care to the children. One staff member said, ‘The team works collaboratively to create a stable, nurturing environment where children feel heard, valued and safe.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are provided with opportunities to discuss their practice and the progress of the children at regular team meetings. However, not all staff receive regular supervision sessions, including the manager. This limits opportunities to reflect on and improve practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from access to a range of training opportunities to ensure that they have the knowledge and skills to meet the needs of the children in their care effectively. This includes bespoke training delivered by partner agencies. Inspection report for children’s home: 1251073 5 Managers are organised and have good oversight of the home. They regularly monitor the quality of care provided to children and take swift action to develop any areas of practice when needed. Managers know the strengths and vulnerabilities of the home, and they take action to make continuous improvements. Inspection report for children’s home: 1251073 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, The Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that all staff, including the manager, receive regular supervision of their practice, which provides them with the opportunity to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children in their care. 13 February 2026

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the recruitment of any workers who have lived overseas includes checks and risk assessments to minimise safeguarding risks to children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, using the social care common inspection framework. This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, and to consider how well it complies with The Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’. Inspection report for children’s home: 1251073 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Town Hall Extension, Manchester M2 5DB

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Inspectors

Zillah Brooks, Social Care Inspector Justina Henry, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1251073 8 achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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